Riding a Bike

n March 2016, Kobe Bryant was in the final weeks of a storied 20-season career. Devin Booker was just coming through his first year in the NBA. So what did the 19-year-old Suns rookie do when he found himself with the ball and matched up with his basketball idol in what would be Bryant's final game in Phoenix?

"I went right to his move. I went right to the Kobe fadeaway," Booker says.

His shot fell short. But after the game, Kobe came up to him and said, "You know what? I did the same thing when I matched up with MJ the first time."

Kobe asked Booker to continue the conversation off the floor. "No ice that day," Booker remembers. "Straight to the shower, straight to the visitors locker room... and I thought it was going to

be a two-, three-minute convo, and it ended up being 15, 20 minutes postgame."

They exchanged numbers, and Kobe signed shoes for

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March 2016, Kobe Bryant was in the final weeks of a storied 20-season career. Devin Booker was just coming through his first year in the NBA. So what did the 19-year-old Suns rookie do when he found himself with the ball and matched up with his basketball idol in what would be Bryant's final game in Phoenix?

"I went right to his move. I went right to the Kobe fadeaway," Booker says.

His shot fell short. But after the game, Kobe came up to him and said, "You know what? I did the same thing when I matched up with MJ the first time."

Kobe asked Booker to continue the conversation off the floor. "No ice that day," Booker remembers. "Straight to the shower, straight to the visitors locker room... and I thought it was going to

be a two-, three-minute convo, and it ended up being 15, 20 minutes postgame."

They exchanged numbers, and Kobe signed shoes for

sd

fsdf